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A D D E E S S 



DELIVERED ON THE 



^ko |jiuni)vcbtfj linnibcrsarn 



OF THE ORGANIZATION OP TUE 



First Baptist Ciiuucii, Boston 



JUNE 7, 186 5, 



ROLL IN nEBER NEALE, D. D. 

1' A S T R. 



BOSTON: 

G O U I. \^ AND T. T N C O L N, 

59 WASHINOTON STREET. 
18 65. 



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"^73 






At a meeting of the Church, held Tuesday evenhig, June 20, 1865, the 
following votes were passed : — 

" That it is desirable that the address delivered at the celebration of the 
two hundredth anniversary of organization of this Church, by our pastor. 
Rev. R. H. Neale, should be published, with such other historical matter as 
may be useful for future reference, and that the pastor be requested to fur- 
nish a copy for that purpose. 

" Voled, That brethren Cyrus Carpenter, W. H. Brewer, C. A. Turner, 
and D. P. Simpson, constitute a committee with full power to carry out the 
purposes of the preceding vote." 



CamfjritiQc iprrss. 

D A K I S A X D M K T O A L K. 



♦ I ♦ 



kill ^bbrcss. 



HtSTOPJOAL A.DT)r.ESS, 



We are assembled, my brethren, to commemorate, 
by religious and social services, The Two Hundredth 
Anniversary of our existence as a Church. 

According to the record, this church was organized 
"on the 28th of the third month, 1665." Our fa- 
thers, however, in numbering the months, began with 
JMarch, and not with January; so that May was 
their " third month." Allowing ten days for a change 
in the calendar from "old to new style," makes 
what was their 28th of May our 7th of June. It is, 
therefore, two hundred years ago to-day since this 
church was formed. To me, the pastor, and to the 
present membership, and to those who have sus- 
tained these relations heretofore, this is an occasion 
of much interest. It is natural that we should wish 
to review our history, and speak of the way in Avhicli 
the Lord hath led us. A similar gathering of per- 
sonal and Christian friends met here three years ago, 
on the twenty-fifth anniversary of my own settle- 



6 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

ment. We then spoke of old times, when many of 
ns were young, and before others were born. A 
generation had arisen who looked npon modern his- 
tory as quite ancient, and who now, I presume, re- 
gard my pastorate as extending into the shadowy 
past, before the Shawmut Avenue Church was formed, 
or the Harvard Street Church, or Bowdoin Square, or 
the Union Temple, and before the present pastor of 
the Bethel — a child of our own — had thought of en- 
tering the ministry, and before the pastor and con- 
stituent members of the Southac Street Church had 
escaped from Virginia. Thirty years ago, however, 
Boston was no mean city. Her merchants and 
scholars had a wide and well-earned fame. Her 
clergymen, of all denominations, were men of sub- 
stantial worth, and the Baptists, I remember, were 
in the very zenith of their glory. The Union Lec- 
ture was then in existence. This was looked for- 
ward to through the week, and regarded as the 
crowning feature of the Sabbath. A large congrega- 
tion of the four churches assembled on Sunday even- 
ing. The pastors had the grateful privilege of 
listening to a brother minister. They officiated them- 
selves alternately, each in his own pulpit : Mr. 
Hague at the First Church, Baron Stow at Baldwin 
Place, Howard Malcom at Federal Street, and Dr. 
Sharp, then in the fulness of his strength, at Charles 
Street. 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 7 

It would be a pleasure to me, though attended 
with a feeling of sadness, to linger around these well- 
remembered scenes, to speak of the friends who lirst 
welcomed me to Boston, to say a word of my 
loved and lamented associates at Newton, and pay a 
heartfelt tribute to that good professor who has re- 
cently left us; but it is not permitted me to-day to 
indulge in personal memories. I must go to a re- 
moter past, — to a period before the Revolution, almost 
a century before Washington was born, — to the time 
when there were only a few small colonies scattered 
here and there, at Jamestown, New Haven, Hartford, 
and Providence. Settlements had begun on the 
capes and along the South Shore, near to the old 
landing-place at Plymouth, and more numerous and 
enterprising ones at Salem and Lynn, and particu- 
larly in and about Boston, where then as now the 
people took a prominent lead in public affliirs. I 
am not about to give a history of the Baptists, ex- 
cept as I must necessarily speak of an origin and 
experience with which our brethren in New England 
are more or less connected. 

Nor is it my purpose to attempt a history of our 
denominational pnnciples. This would carry me back 
to the third of Matthew, and the river Jordan, and 
all through the Acts of the Apostles, — to a succes- 
sion of saints and martyrs during the first three 
centuries, and to numerous bodies of Protestants that 



8 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

arose one after another, from the accession of Con- 
stantine to the Reformation, in Italy and Germany, 
in the mountains of Switzerland, and the valleys of 
Piedmont and Savoy; communities who long before 
the time of Luther had steadily refused all affiliation 
with the Church of Rome. Their spiritual instincts 
spurned the adulterous union of Church and State. 
Their reverence for the word of God, and for the 
injunctions and example of Christ, resisted the inno- 
vations and assumptions of the Papal power. They 
were of course hated by that power. They were 
compelled to hold their meetings in secret places, in 
forests, in dark ravines, in mountain fastnesses, — being 
driven, like the saints of old, to dens and caves of 
the earth. They were generally known as Wal- 
denses, though called at different places and periods 
by various names. Slight and comparatively unim- 
portant shades of opinion existed among themselves, 
but they were agreed in the substantial truths of 
Christianity, and especially in their experience of its 
life and power. All were loyal to Christ and his 
cross, — to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is known, 
also, that many or most of them held to the distinc- 
tive principles of our denomination, — namely, baptism 
by immersion, a converted church membership, and 
the inalienable right of civil and personal freedom in 
all matters of religious faith. Our creed, therefore, 
as Baptists, whether right or wrong, can be traced to 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 9 

a respectable origin, and through a distingiiislied and 
worthy lineage. I feel interested in this fact only as 
a matter of history, and because one loves to know 
that others agree with him in sentiment, but not as 
a proof that our creed is correct, or that ours is the 
only infallible church. Truth is not determined by 
majorities, nor by decisions of councils, nor votes in 
a convention, nor is it confined to any ecclesiastical 
body ; nor is the Holy Spirit limited to names, or 
sects, or systems of theology. Doctrines are no bet> 
ter, nor churches nor ministers, because of any real 
or supposed line of apostolical succession. Their 
worth depends rather upon conformity to the sacred 
oracles, upon their resting directly on the foundation 
of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner-stone. If we speak not according 
to this word, it is because there is no truth in us. 

But I will proceed to the appropriate subject of 
my address. The first record on our books is as 
follows : — 

"The 28th of the third month, 1G65, in Charles- 
town, Massachusetts, the Church of Christ, commonly, 
though falsely, called Anabaptists, were gathered to- 
gether, and entered into fellowship and communion 
with each other; engaging to walk together in all 
the appointments of their Lord and Master, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, as far as he should be pleased to 
make known his mind and will unto them, bv his 



10 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

word and Spirit, and then were baptized, Thomas 
Gould, Thomas Osborne, Edward Drinker, John 
George — and joined with Richard Goodall, Wilham 
Turner, Robert Lambert, Mary Goodall, and Mary 
Newell, who had walked in that order in Old Eng- 
land, and to whom God hath since joined Isaac Hull, 
John Farnham, Jacob Barney, John Russell, Jr., John 
Johnson, George Farley, Benjamin Sweetser, Mrs. 
Sweetser, and Ellis Callender, all before 1669." 

It was thirty-five years after the settlement of Bos- 
ton before the Baptists of the colony formed them- 
selves into a church. Their name and sentiments, 
however, were known before this time. Roger Wil- 
liams had been here, and Obadiah Holmes. "Sister 
Moody," a very respectable and wealthy lady, had 
lived at Lynn, and had been asked, not very politely, 
to leave the place. " Brother Witter " was there 
still, and had been arrested for entertaining "suspi- 
cious strangers " from Newport. Persons connected 
with other societies were subjected to annoyance, be- 
cause of their Baptist sympathies. The Rev. Henry 
Dunster was obliged on this account to resign the 
Presidency of Harvard College, and make way for 
successors who it was thought would be more true 
to " Christ and the church." It is well known that 
our Puritan ancestors were exceedingly intolerant of 
all opinions and practices that differed from their own. 
In saying this, I am not unmindful of their many 



Ill STORI C A L A 1) D 11 K S S. 11 

virtues. We glory in being their descendants. Their 
heroic energy and stern morals have made New Eng- 
land what it is, the glory of all lands, with its thrift 
and enterprise, its benevolent institutions, its indom- 
itable people, its fruitful farms and smiling villages 
its " busy cities and resounding shores, its schools 
and churches peering out from every valley and 
crowning every hill-top." But these earnest men were 
not perfect. That they had a profound reverence 
for the Deity is undoubted. Still their religion 
was often hard, dry, and juiceless, partaking more of 
law than of grace, more of fear than of love. With 
the most humiliating confessions of sin was mingled 
a remarkable degree of self-complacency. They were 
the chosen people of God, the only true Israel, and 
all others were barbarians, Amalekites, the children of 
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Their civil polity and 
church discipline were one and the same, — a strange 
combination of the temporal with the spiritual power ; 
an iron framework, dark, strong, and inexorable, after 
the Old Testament pattern. It was a theocracy as in 
the Hebrew commonw^ealth ; God was the immediate 
Sovereign, whose laws had already been promulgated 
from Mount Sinai, and written as upon tables of stone, 
and they were the appointed executors of the divine 
will. It was not so much a union of Church and 
State as a complete absorption of the State in the 
Church. The minister and magistrate were united, 



12 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

and enforced alike the duties of the first and second 
table. No civil functionary presumed to act in any 
important public affairs without first taking counsel 
of the clergy, nor the clergy without consulting the 
Mosaic ritual. The Bible was to be literally -fol- 
lowed. Heresy was to be treated as an indictable 
offence, and witchcraft punished with death. 

The people marvellously resembled their govern- 
ment. They were full of humanity and love while 
they remained in the New Testament ; but they grew 
stern among the prophets, and absolutely ferocious 
when they got back as far as Leviticus and Deuterono- 
my. Like Israel, on entering Canaan, they were ready 
to drive the Hittites and Perizzites and Jebuzites out 
of the land. This spirit reached its height in the time 
of Cromwell, between 1648 and 1660, when the Pu- 
ritans had full sway. The Quakers, Episcopalians, 
and Baptists were put down. That is, as far as it is 
possible to put down the free spirit "whose essence 
is ethereal." The cords, it was found, often broke in 
tightening. Thought became the keener, and w^ords 
the sharper. The smothered fires were the more 
intense and terrible, as beneath the heaving sides of 
Etna or Vesuvius. There is really no adequate apol- 
ogy for this conduct of the Pilgrims. No defences 
set up in their behalf, not even the old stereotyped 
one, that it was the fault of the times, is at all sat- 
isfactory. This is the standing apology for every sin. 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 13 

It is better to say, that good and wise men as the 
Puritans were in general, yet in this thing they were 
unwise and wicked. John Winthrop, tlie best of the 
early magistrates, honestly acknowledged the wrong 
on his dying bed. Being asked to sign an order for 
the banishment of some person for heterodoxy, he 
refused, saying, " I have done too much of that work 
already." 

When Charles the Second came to the throne, in 
1661, the American colonies were of course called 
to account for their sympathy with the Great Rebel- 
lion. The loyalty of Massachusetts had been more 
than suspected, and with good reason. The people 
were Puritans of the straitest sect. They had shouted 
for Cromwell. They had sent the Browns out of the 
country for keeping Christmas and reading the Prayer 
Book. They still harbored the regicides. Commis- 
sioners were accordingly sent over from England, soon 
after the restoration, to rectify this state of things. 

Charles, though more of a Catholic than a Prot- 
estant, and not much troubled probably with religion 
of any kind, was yet the official head of the English 
Church. Episcopalians, therefore, must be no longer 
persecuted. The Quakers had strangely ingratiated 
themselves into royal favor, and they must hereafter 
be unmolested. The whole policy of Puritan intoler- 
ance was thus checked, especially during the pres- 
ence of the King's commissioners. This was in the 



14 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

winter of 1G64-65. Thomas Gould and his compan- 
ions were now, some in the Congregational churches; 
others had letters of dismission from England, " to 
join any church of the same faith and order with 
themselves, wherever God in his providence should 
cast their lot;" and some had made no profession 
at all. 

Taking advantage of this auspicious period, when 
the hand of persecution was stayed, and the temple 
of Janus was shut, they ventured to meet together 
for worship ; and, as we have seen, organized them- 
selves into a regular Baptist Church " on the 28th of 
the third month, 1665." 

They were, however, still pursued by their vigilant 
and conscientious neighbors. A warrant was issued 
to the constable of Charlestown, commanding him in 
the name of his Majesty, Charles the Second, to dis- 
cover where these people were assembled, and require 
that they should attend the churches which were es- 
tablished by law ; and if they should refuse a prompt 
and strict compliance with this order, he was to report 
their names and places of abode to the nearest magis- 
trate. Decisions against them were often pronounced 
by t.he General Court. I will not weary you by read- 
ing them. They are all in the chronicles of that time. 
The following may serve as a specimen of their gen- 
eral character : " This court taking the premises into 
consideration, do judge meet to declare that the said 



II I S TORI C A L A D D R E S S . 1 5 

Gould and company are no orderly cluirch assembly, 
and that tliey stand justly convicted of high presump- 
tion against the Lord and his holy appointment, as also 
the peace of this government, against which this court 
doth account themselves bound to God, his truth, and 
his churches here planted, to bear their testimony ; 
and do therefore sentence the said Thomas Gould, 
William Turner, Thomas Osborne, Edward Drinker, 
and John George, such of them as are freemen, to be 
disfranchised, and all of them, upon conviction before 
any one magistrate or court, of their further pro- 
ceeding therein, to be committed to prison until 
the General Court shall take further order with 
them." 

When their first house of worship was built, in 1679, 
they were forbidden to occupy it. The marshal was 
ordered to keep it closed, w'hicli he accordingly did ; 
and posted the following paper on the door : 

"All persons are to take notice, that by order of the court, the 
doors of this house are shut up, and that they are inhibited to 
hold any meeting therein, or to open the doors thereof, without 
licenise from authority, till the court take further order, as they 
will answer the contrary at tlioir i)eril. 

" Edward Rawson, Secretary." 

While enduring these vexations, the Baptists remon- 
strated earnestly and persistently, but carefidly re- 
frained, in word and action, from all disrespect to the 



IG HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

constituted authorities. " Respect for magistracy," was 
always their motto. " But it was wrong and incon- 
sistent," they said to the governor, " to do the same 
things here in America, of which thef/ had complained 
in England." The governor felt the force of this ap- 
peal, and ordered a public disputation, after the custom 
of those days, to discuss the principles in question. 

Six learned Congregational ministers were selected 
to argue the cause with the Baptists, in the presence 
of His Excellency and the honorable Council. The 
controversy was appointed to be held in Boston the 
14th of April, 1668, at nine o'clock, in the morning. 
The Baptists were on hand promptly at the appointed 
hour, each with his New Testament, ready marked and 
the leaves turned down. Nothing pleased them better 
than an opportunity for free speech and Scripture quo- 
tations. They came from all quarters. Three brethren 
were sent from the church in Newport to assist their 
brethren in Boston, it was said, though the Boston 
Baptists then, as now, felt abundantly competent to 
manage their own affairs. Providence, no doubt, was 
ably represented. The followers of Roger Williams 
were always courageous and fond of dispute, and, like 
the sons of Rhode IslandSn the late conflict, were never 
known to flee or flinch in the presence of an enemy. 
But when they met, they found the controversy all on 
one side. The Baptists were denounced as schismatics. 
They might hear what their opponents had to say, but 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 17 

were not allowed to answer. Two days were thus occu- 
pied ; at the close of which, Rev. Jonathan Mitchell, 
minister of the church in Cambridge, pronounced against 
them that sentence in the 17th chapter of Deuteronomy, 
beginning with the 8th verse, and ending with these 
words : " And the man that will do presumptuously, and 
will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to min- 
ister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the Judge, 
even that man shall die, and thou shalt put away the 
evil from Israel." 

In circumstances like these, this church began 
their history. For over half a century they stood 
alone, and bore the responsibilities and the whole 
weight of theological odium which rested upon the 
Baptist name and cause in the Colony of Massachu- 
setts. They must have had, and did have, during 
the first seventy years of their experience, a painful 
sense of isolation. They were separated from their 
brethren in England. No sister churches were in the 
neighborhood. No Baptist associations, as now, witli 
letters and delegates, pleasant countenances, and kindly 
words to cheer and sustain them. Rev. John Miles, 
who had recently emigrated with a remnant of his 
Hock, from Wales, was at I^Jwansea, and occasionally 
made a visit to Boston ; and sometimes a good brother 
or two would come up from Rhode Island and the 
Providence Plantations; but in general, our brethren 
were shut out from public sympathy, and lived in 
c 



18 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

constant dread of the emissaries of government. They 
met in the houses of the different members of the 
chmxh at Charlestown, Noddle's Island, and in Back 
Street, now Salem Street, until the erection of their first 
sanctuary, in 1679. 

For fourteen years, they could not dwell even in taber- 
nacles. Their first meeting-house was an unpretending 
structure, at the foot of an open lot running down from 
Salem Street to the mill-pond, and on the north side 
of what is now Stillman Street. The mill-pond was a 
larii-e sheet of water which flowed in from Charles 
River, and covered all that part of the city, including 
Causeway and Merrimac Streets, Haymarket Square, 
and Endicott Street, down to the old Charlestown bridge. 
In 1771, under the popular ministry of Dr. Stillman, 
the first house was taken down and a larger one erected 
on the same spot. An addition was made twenty years 
later, making the whole building 57 by 77. The lot 
on which it stood formed a spacious and beautiful area 
in front of the church. There were two vestries, one 
in the rear, and a larger one on the north side. In 
that humble edifice, the church worshipped for over a 
hundred and fifty years. It is fraught with precious 
memories. It is associateci with conference and prayer, 
with baptismal and sacramental occasions, and with a 
succession of pastors and members whose influence will 
be felt forever. There Wayland and Winchell and 
Stillman preached, and others, back to the time of 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 19 

John Russell and Thomas Gould. At the dedication 
of the second house, on the same locality, Dr. Stillman 
preached in the morning from Ezra v. 11: "We are 
the servants of the Most High God, and build the house 
that was builded these many years ago." And in the 
afternoon, from Haggai ii. 7 : "I will fill this house 
with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts." About this 
time, the church voted to introduce Watts's Psalms and 
Hymns, instead of the version of Tate and Brady, which 
had been previously in use. It is said that the house 
was built at the water-side for convenience in baptizing. 
This may have been the motive ; I think very likely 
it was. But if so, it was only in imitation of primitive 
example. Our Saviour taught his disciples on the 
borders of the lake, and John preached in Enon, near 
to Salem, because there was much water there. It was 
made a reproach against this church at first that its 
ministers were uneducated. But this was a matter of 
necessity. They could obtain no other. They selected 
and encouraged the best gifts they had. They chose 
their spiritual guides from among themselves, men in 
whose wisdom and religious experience they had the 
fullest confidence. They preached with little or no 
compensation, and until the settlement of the younger 
Callender, without the sanction of an ecclesiastical 
council. Thomas Gould, being the principal man in 
forming the church, was very naturally selected as its 
first pastor. John Kussell, who was a member of the 



20 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

church at the same time, was also authorized, whenever 
needed, to conduct rehgious services. Mr. Gould's pas- 
torate continued ten years. Isaac Hull was appointed 
his successor, and Mr. Russell still continued as an asso- 
ciate pastor, or elder, as these experienced and trusted 
brethren were very appropriately called. Mr. Russell 
was ordained in 1679, but died the next year. He is 
described as a wise and worthy man. Previous to his 
death, he wrote an account of the trials through which 
the church had passed. This was published in England, 
with a preface signed by several brethren of the Baptist 
denomination, among whom was William Kiffin, an em- 
inent merchant of London, whose two grandsons suf- 
fered a cruel death at the hands of James the Second, 
and also Hansard Knollys, a man prominent among the 
English Baptists of the 17th century, and whose name 
is now widely known from its connection with the Lon- 
don Historical Society. Mr. Russell made no preten- 
sions to scholarship, but " plainly spoke what he did 
know." He was a shoemaker by trade, and probably 
worked at his profession after entering the ministry. 
This was made a subject of ridicule by the learned 
divines of Boston. One of them wrote a reply to his 
narrative, and put as a motto on the title-page, " Cob- 
bler, stick to your last." Another, a Mr. Hubbard, 
referring to the same account, says, " One John Russell, 
a wedder dropped shoemaker, has stitched up a pam- 
phlet, in which he endeavors to show the innocency 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 21 

of those commonly (though falsely, he says) called 
Anabaptists." 

A Mr. Willard remarked, "Truly, if Goodman Rus- 
sell be a fit man for a minister, we have but fooled 
ourselves in building colleges and instructing children 
in learning." Dr. Mather, who was always strongly 
armed with Old Testament quotations, published a 
piece in which he accused the Baptists of the sin of 
Jeroboam in making priests of the lowest order of the 
people. Mr. Russell was an old man when he entered 
the pastoral office, and soon slept with his fathers. At 
his decease, the church appointed Ellis Callender '' to 
be helpful in carrying on their worship in the fore- 
noon, and Edward Drinker to officiate in the afternoon, 
in the absence of Elder Hull." Mr. Hull, the associate 
of Mr. Russell, was also advanced in years when called 
to assume the spiritual oversight of his brethren. 
Owing to his age and infirmities, the church wrote to 
Eno;land for an assistant. Rev. John Emblem was 
obtained, who continued in that office about fifteen 
years, until his death in 1699. Mr. Hull also con- 
tinued in the pastoral office until his death, though 
unable to perform its active duties. At what time or 
in what year of his age he died is unknown ; probably, 
however, about the year 1690. The records of the 
church at that time were imperfectly kept. There 
is no record at all from 1696 to 1708, a period of 
twelve years. Most of this time the church were des- 



22 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

titute of a regular pastor. They wrote to England for 
one, and to Mr. Screven of South Carolina, but without 
success. Mr. Screven replied, " that, if the Lord did 
not please to supply them in the way they had ex- 
pected, they should improve the gifts they had in 
the church, as they had done from the beginning.. 
Brother Callender," he said, " and John Russell, Jr., 
have gifts that may tend to edification if improved. 
I think you should call one or both of them to it." 
The church followed this advice, and called Mr. Ellis 
Callender. He was ordained in 1708. Like most of his 
predecessors in office, he had not been educated to the 
clerical profession. But, like them, he had long been a 
member of the church, had shared their sufferings and 
joys from the beginning, and thus possessed the inesti- 
mable advantage of being confided in as one who nat- 
urally cared for their state. He performed the duties of 
a pastor for over ten years ; and had the great pleasure 
in his lifetime of seeing his son Elisha Callender in- 
ducted into the same office. Elisha was a young man 
of much promise. He had graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege, in the class of 1710. He united with the church 
about three years after, and, having given satisfactory 
evidence of his qualifications for the ministry, was 
ordained as pastor of the church. May 21st, 1718. 
" This," says Mr. Winchell, " was an event of great joy 
to the father. Like Elijah of old, having courageously 
and faithfully vindicated the honor of his Master in 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 23 

* troublous times/ ho saw, in departing, his l)elovecl 
Elisha, his own son in the faith, who had been edu- 
cated in the school of tlie Prophets, invested with the 
office which he had himself sustained, and rejoiced in 
the prospect that the mantle of the father, even a 
double portion of his spirit, would fall upon the son." 

But besides the circumstance of being successor to 
his lather, the ordination of Mr. Callender was an in- 
teresting event on account of its having been attended 
by those ministers who a few years before had used 
their influence to drive the Baptists out of the colony. 

" It was a grateful surprise to me," saj^s old Dr. 
Increase Mather, " when several of the brethren of the 
Antipedobaptist persuasion came to me, desiring that I 
Avould give them the right hand of fellowship in ordain- 
ing one whom they had chosen to be their pastor. I did 
(as I believe it was my duty) readily consent to what 
they proposed, considering the young man to be or- 
dained is serious and pious and of a candid spirit, and 
has been educated in the college at Cambridge, and that 
all the brethren with whom I have any acquaintance 
(I hope the like concerning others of them) are, in the 
judgment of rational charity, godly persons." This 
language to us has a patronizing air, making it not 
quite so palatable as it might be ; but it was doubtless 
graciously intended. 

Dr. Cotton Mather preached the ordination sermon, 
and entitled it " Good Men United." lie made direct 



24 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

reference to the persecutions which the Baptists had 
suffered from the rnhng powers, and, in Old Testament 
style quite common at that time, he says, " Cursed the 
anger for it is fierce, and the wrath for it is cruel, good 
for nothing but only to make divisions in Jacob and 
dispersions in Israel." 

The venerable father of the candidate lived eight 
years after his son's ordination, and occasionally as- 
sisted him in his work. 

The following record is on the church books (May 5, 
1721) : " Voted, that if Providence at any time pre- 
vent our elder or pastor from coming forth on the 
Sacrament day, then his father shall proceed to admin- 
ister the ordinance as formerly." 

The senior Mr. Callender died in 1726, when he 
must have been about eighty years of age. His son 
Elisha continued in the pastoral office for twenty 
years. He was much beloved by his people, and 
the church prospered under his ministry* "Although 
his constitution was feeble, he not only discharged 
the duties of his office at home to great acceptance, 
but frequently preached in neighboring towns, and as 
far off as Springfield and Sutton, Leicester, Marshfield, 
and Salem, in most of which places several persons 
were baptized and became members of the church." 
But in the midst of life and usefulness he was arrested 
by disease, which terminated in his death, March 31, 
1738. The "Boston Evening Post," a journal pub- 
lished here at the time, thus refers to his death : — 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 25 

" On Friday morning last, after a lingering illness, 
deceasecl the Rev. Mr. Elisha Callender, minister 
o!* the Baptist Church in this town, a gentleman 
universally beloved by people of all persuasions for 
his charitable and catholic way of thinking. His life 
was unspotted, and his conversation always affable, 
religious, and truly manly. During his long illness 
he was remarkably patient ; and in his last hours, like 
the blessed above, pacific and entirely serene ; his 
senses good to the last. *I shall,' said he, Asleep in 
Jesus,' and that moment expired, very much lamented 
by all that knew him." 

Rev. Jeremiah Condy was the next pastor. He was 
a graduate of Harvard College, in the class of 1720. 
He was ordained as pastor of the church, February 14, 
1739, and remained in this office until 1764, a period 
of twenty-five years. There is something of a cloud 
resting upon his memory, but for what reason it is 
difficult to ascertain. Mr. Winchell records that he 
was a man of unblemished character. His continu- 
ance with the same people for a quarter of a century 
is itself a recommendation. He left them of his own 
accord, and with the strongest assurance, on their 
part, of unabated confidence and love. He was 
called an Arminian ; but this charge, from the lips of 
those who were in sympathy with Dr. Gill, requires 
considerable abatement. Few additions, it is said, 
were made to the church under his pastorate. This 

D 



26 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

may have been his fault, or it may have been owing 
to circumstances beyond his control. In the early 
part of Mr. Condy's pastorate an extraordinary relig- 
ious excitement prevailed in New England, known 
as the " Great Awakening," under the preaching of 
Whitefield and Edwards, and the Tennents. Like 
some other Massachusetts divines, Mr. Condy may 
not have fully sympathized with the unusual proceed- 
ings of that day. He may have been deficient in 
energy and spiritual life. But if his ministry had 
been attended with none of these deficiencies, it prob- 
ably would have been eclijDsed by the splendor of 
the light that soon arose. A letter full of confidence 
and love was given to Mr. Condy, at his resignation. 
He continued to j-eside in the city, and preached in 
diiferent places until his death, in 1768. 

The now familiar and venerated name of Samuel 
Stillman is the next on the list of pastors. He was 
born in Philadelphia, February 27, 1737. In his boy- 
hood his parents removed to Charleston, South Car- 
olina, where he remained until he entered the ministry 
at the age of twenty-one. He had received a good 
classical education, and studied theology under his 
pastor, the Rev. Mr. Hart. He commenced preach- 
ing on James Island, near Charleston. But the sea 
air being unfavorable to his health, he soon left the 
island and spent the two following years in Borden- 
town. New Jersey. He then visited New England, 



11 1 S T O R I CA L ADD R E S S. 27 

und was invited to pass a year with tlie Second 
Church, since known as Baldwin Place, as an assist- 
ant to the Rev. Mr. Bound. While there, he was 
called to the pastoral care of this church, and was 
installed January 9, 1705, just one hundred years 
after the church was formed. Here he continued till 
his death, a period of forty-two years. No pastor 
before or since was ever more beloved by his church. 
His popularity was uninterrupted, and greater if pos- 
sible in his old age than in his youth. A few 
individuals who sat under his ministry and who were 
quite young when he was an old man, still survive 
and are present wdth us to-day. They never weary 
in talking about him, and even now speak of this 
as Dr. Stillman's church. They looked at the vener- 
able pastor not only with the profoundest respect, 
but with the observant eye of childhood. They 
noticed and remembered everything in his external 
appearance, his wig and gown and bands, his horse 
and carriage, and negro-man Jephtha, — how he 
walked, how he talked, how he baptized, the pecul- 
iar manner in which he began his prayers: "0 thou 
Father of mercies and God of all grace." 

Dr. Stillman's affectionate hearers never wanted 
their pastor to exchange pulpits of a Sunday, and 
were impatient of his absence from an evening meet- 
ing. " The Doctor is coming," was a common expres- 
sion of gladness as they heard his familiar voice and 
foot-fall at the head of the old plank pathway, leading 



28 111 STOlllCAL ADDRESS. 

from the main street clown to the church. Dr. Still- 
man was loved not alone by his own people. He 
was a universal favorite. He was regarded by the 
wdiole community as a man of more than ordinary 
talent, of great kindness of heart and perfect purity 
of moral character. Habitually pleasant and cheer- 
ful, he was welcome in every circle. He never 
assumed professional airs, but was always the gentle- 
man and the dignified clergyman. He was probably 
the most popular pulpit orator of his day. Strangers 
visiting the city, made arrangements to hear him at 
least a part of the Sabbath. The most distinguished 
men in the Commonwealth were often present at his 
public services. The elder President Adams was a 
delighted listener to his sermons. Governor Hancock 
became, in the latter part of his life, a regular member 
of his congregation. Persons who cared nothing for 
his theology were attracted by his fame as a public 
speaker. A stranger gentleman of this class was one 
day present at church, and seemed restless and uneasy 
under the strong doctrines of human depravity, divine 
sovereignty, and future retribution that were often 
on the preacher's lips. On the present occasion, his 
denunciations of sin had been unusually pointed and 
scathing. "Really," the gentleman remarked, as he 
went out of the sanctuary, " the Doctor makes us 
all out a set of rascals, but he does it so gracefully 
and eloquently that I am not disposed to find fault. 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. ^ 20 

Dr. Stillman's eloquence was of a peculiar kiud. It 
hud a resistless charm; not mighty, but iascinating. 
Not like the rushing storm of ocean, sublime and aw- 
ful ; but like a June morning, healthful and inspiring. 
Young people flocked in crowds to his Sunday evening 
lecture. The late Dr. Pierce, of Brookline, said, that 
in his boyhood he had walked many a time from his 
home in Dorchester, to get a standing-place in Dr. 
Stillman's meeting-house. " Stillman's Sermons," as we 
now have them, give but an imperfect idea of what 
he was in the pulpit. There was a power, a beauty, 
a fire, in his spoken address, which it was impossible 
to transfer to paper. His best thoughts came while 
speaking. As he caught inspiration from his theme, 
he left his notes, his spectacles were taken off, and 
then the people looked for his most stirring appeals. 
He would move about in the pulpit, not with theatri- 
cal starts, but as if on silver springs. Every nerve 
was in full and easy play. His eyes beamed with light, 
and his voice, increasing in volume and sweetness, 
seemed like the music of heaven, and his words came 
like flakes of feathered snow, " that melted as the^^ fell." 

Dr. Stillman's ministry was exercised during a 
period of great national interest. The revolutionary 
war, the change of the colonies into independent 
States, the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the 
presidency of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, all 
occurred while he \\;is a pastoi" in Boston. He was 



30 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

a deeply interested observer of these events. He was 
an enthusiastic friend of General Washington, and the 
conservative principles of the first administration. In 
the exciting political conflicts of 1801, he obviously 
sympathized with the Federal party ; nor did he hesi- 
tate, on what he deemed suitable occasions, to utter 
his sentiments from the pulpit. It is really refreshing 
to know that the good, judicious, the eminently con- 
servative Dr. Stillman, did preach on politics. Persons 
then, as now, complained, and thought he had better 
preach the gospel, and leave worldly affairs to worldly 
men. But he thought it his duty, he said, as a Chris- 
tian minister and a Christian patriot, to warn the peo- 
ple against the influence of French infidelity and those 
principles which, in his oj)inion, would tend to anarchy 
and disunion. There was no bitterness, however, in 
his preaching. He was always on the best of terms 
Avitli Dr. Baldwin, whose sympathies, it was well 
known, were of the Jefiersonian school. These good 
men and their churches loved each other as brethren, 
and strove together only for the faith of the gospel ; 
though it is said, that, on Thanksgiving and Fast Days, 
the Federalists naturally went to Stillman Street, and 
the Democrats to Baldwin Place. 

During the first years of the present century, there 
was a remarkable revival of religion in the First and 
Second Churches. Thisy no doubt, tended to moderate 
the political differences which prevailed at that period. 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 31 

The grace of God is a wonderful healer of diseord. 
The pastors were as brothers, and the churches as one 
body. Religious meetings were held on the Sabbath, 
and during the week. The congregations were large, 
and many conversions occurred. Dr. Stillman* was in 
his element on such occasions. The inquiry from 
anxious hearts, "What shall I do to be saved?" 
touched his tenderest emotions. His counsels were 
wuse and peculiarly appropriate. He would endeavor 
to understand each case, — would try to remove every 
difficulty, and check such as appeared too forward ; 
would speak an encouraging word to those who were 
inclined to despond, and ahvays made religion appear 
attractive. Dea. James Loring, in his advanced years, 
often spoke to me of these personal interviews. He 
recollected jDarticularly one occasion, when he and 
other young people were present in the pastor's 
study. The Doctor conversed with all in the room, 
took each one by the hand, and seemed to compre- 
hend their unuttered thoughts. Most of those present 
had expressed in words, and more clearly in their 
countenances, that they had experienced the first 
impulses of the new life. The pastor discovered it 
as if by intuition. He looked around most affection- 
ately upon the youthful circle, and with a smile of 
delight, said, " My dear children, what a wonderful 
thing religion is! How happy it makes us!" 

Dr. Stillman was veiy tender-hearted. He syrapa- 



32 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

tliized strongly with human .suffering. The sick, the 
])oor, the bereaved, were sure of his pastoral visits. 
I[e never forgot to pray for the sailor. Many of this 
class were frequently in his church. He would occa- 
sionally address them directly, and did this with such 
a look and tone of kindness that they would often 
rise up, as an expression of their interest and grati- 
tude. Prisoners, and criminals under sentence of 
death, were accustomed to desire his presence. They 
were often benefited by his timely counsels, and found 
relief and hope in his Christ-like spirit. Like his Mas- 
ter, he sympathized with the guilty, as well as with 
the sufferer. He put on no airs of superior sanctity, 
but spoke of himself and them as alike dependent on 
the mercy of God in Christ. He was especially wel- 
come in the house of mourning. He had been him- 
self deeply bereaved, and could feel for the afllicted, 
and knew how to comfort them, " by the comfort 
wherewith he himself was comforted of God." 

Dr. Stillman possessed an eminently catholic spirit. 
He was a lover of good men, and was loved by them in 
return. Christians of other denominations were regu- 
lar attendants upon his ministry, and recognized him 
as their pastor. Among these was the father of a 
well-known and much esteemed clergyman of this 
city. Dr. Stillman was invited on one occasion, by 
the anxious parents, to the bedside, as they supposed, 
of their dying son. He sympathized with them in 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 33 

their distress. The pastor prayed earnestly and with 
moistened eyes for the child's recovery, and also that 
he might live to be a useful man in the Lord's vine- 
yard. William recovered, as the parents thought, and 
as the child, now the venerable Dr. Jenks, still thinks, 
in answer to the " prayer of faith." He was afterwards 
called in the family the little minister. And to this 
day he refers to that memorable prayer as being not 
only the means, under God, of saving his life, but as 
the prayer of consecration to his Master's service. 

It was Dr. Stillman's frequently expressed wish, 
that he might not outlive his usefulness. This w^isli 
was gratified. At threescore years and ten, his eye 
was not dim, nor his natural strength abated. The 
last time he appeared in the pulpit, two weeks before 
his death, he preached with more than his iisual power. 
Dr. Stillman loved his people as a father. He feared 
they might suffer from a decline of his own strength, 
and unwilling that, in the event of his death, they 
should be even temporarily without a pastor, he de- 
sired that they would settle a colleague with him in the 
ministry. The church, not, indeed, sharing his fears, 
still respected his wishes, and complied with his request. 
Rev. Joseph Clay, of Georgia, w^as called to this posi- 
tion ; but before the new minister had entered upon 
his labors, the venerable Stillman had joined the 
church on hifdi. He died on the 12tli of March, 
1807. His funeral was attended on the 17th of the 

E 



34 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

same month, by his bereaved people, and a large con- 
course of sympathizmg friends. Dr. Baldwin preached 
on the occasion from 2 Timothy iv. 7, 8. " I have 
fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I 
have kept the faith." " I have a distinct recollection," 
said Dr. Pierce, " of the funeral. All the members of 
the society appeared with badges of mourning, the 
women wdth black bonnets and handkerchiefs. If the 
pastor had been removed in the bloom of youth, his 
people could not have been more deeply affected." 
The line in the elegy, 

" 'J'hough the voice tremble while we sing," 

was literally fulfilled on that occasion. Sobs and tears 
were mingled with the plaintive music. 

" There is a stream whose gentle flow 
Supplies the city of our God ; 
Life, love, and joy still gliding through, 
And watering our divine abode." 

Mr. Clay now became sole pastor of the church, 
and was installed in August, 1807. He had passed 
his early manhood in the practice of the law, and 
had risen to eminence in his profession. For several 
years he, was judge of the United States Court for 
the District of Georgia, his native State. The late 
Attorney General, John M. Berrien, was a student in 
his office, and speaks of him as an able lawyer and 
a most estimable man. Mr. Clay had naturally a 
warm Southern temperament, and after the change 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 35 

ill lii.s religious feelings, he abandoned his legal pro- 
fession, and gave himself with more than youthful 
ardor to the work of the ministry. But his career 
as a minister w^as brief He preached to the church 
only a little over a 3a\ar, when, his health faiHng, 
he resigned his charge. Both himself and people 
hoped for his recovery, and the renewal of the rela- 
tion between them ; but his health continued to 
decline, and he died on the 11th of January, 1811, 
in the forty-seventh year of his age. 

The church was now without a pastor, and re- 
mained so for a period of five years. They suffered 
in consequence many of the evils which Dr. Stillman 
had anticipated. It was a period for numerous can- 
didates, and of course for a diversity of opinions and 
varied preferences. Some were for Paul and some 
for ApoUos, and some for Cephas. The celebrity of 
Dr. Stillman had made the church more than ordina- 
rily fastidious. They must have an able minister ; a 
young man; a scholar. He must be eloquent like 
Dr. Stillman, and a logician like Judge Clay. In 
their view, there was no man in the ministry quite 
equal to so eligible a place as the pastorship of the 
First Baptist Church of Boston. I have been told 
there was some talk of sending for Andrew Fuller ; 
but he was the main support of the Baptists in Eng- 
land, the Secretary of the Foreign Missionary Society, 
and could not be spared from the church at Kettering. 



36 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

Thus the people Imgered on. with Httle prospect of 
obtainino- the mmister of theu- united choice, or of 
beini' lonsc satisfied even with him. 

Meanwhile, a modest young man, a member of a 
Baptist Church in Northeast, N. Y.. was pursuing his 
studies at Union College, and expecting to graduate 
at Schenectady. He was a diligent student, but no 
visionary or day-dreamer, and had no high-raised ex- 
pectations in regard to the future. This was James 
Mannino^ Winchell. Dr. Xott was much attached to 
his pupil, and with a magnanimity characteristic of 
the man, advised him to spend the last year of his 
collegiate course at Brown University, thinking, as he 
was a Baptist, it might be more favorable to his 
future usefulness. The young student followed the 
counsels that were given him, and soon became 
an equal tavorite with Dr. Messer and Dr. Gano 
at Providence. He graduated in the class of 1S12. 
After preaching a year for the Baptist Church in 
Bristol, K. I., he was invited to come as a candi- 
date to this church. Had he been a man of 
worldly ambition, or very sensitive in regard to his 
ministerial reputation, he probably would have de- 
clined the honor. He would not have ventured upon 
a race with so many competitors, where, though all 
should run, only one could receive the prize. But 
Mi\ Winchell had no personal anxieties. He was in- 
vited to preach, and accepted the invitation, not 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 37 

caring to inquire whether he was to become a pastor 
or only a candidate. If he failed he would only share 
the fate of older and, as he thought, much better 
men. He came, and the result is kn(j\vn. His ap- 
pearance in the pulpit produced a very favorable 
impression. The people liked him, — they scarcely 
knew why. Certainly not on account of any care- 
fully prepared " trial " sermon ; for his sermons were 
not elaborate, and his preaching, even in the circum- 
stances, seemed no trial to him. There was no show 
or pretence ; no straining for effect ; no apparent 
thought even of the delicacy of his position. lie 
neither astonished by his depth, nor carried the jjeople 
captive by his brilliancy. He stood before them an 
unsuspecting youth, anxious only to do the service 
of his Master. What could they say ? Criticism was 
disarmed. He was so different, too, from Clay or 
Stillman, that there was no room for comparison. 
They took him at once to their confidence ; called 
him the " beloved Winchell ; " and he goes by this 
name to the present day. 

Mr. Winchell's manner in the pulpit was peculiar. 
There was no air of defiance, not even of self-confi- 
dence. Nor was he diffident or embarrassed, but had 
a subdued look, as of one that feared God. His 
people never boasted of his extraordinary talent or 
overpowering eloquence. Such boasting indicates no 
healthful pastoral relation. He stood higher than this 



38 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

in their estimation. He was a man of God, " the 
beloved Winchell," " our pastor," " and a good minis- 
ter of Jesus Christ." 

Mr. Winchell was installed March 30, 1814. The 
favorable impressions made at first were deejoened 
by acquaintance. No remarkable events or stirring 
scenes occurred under his ministry, and he never 
souo-ht to create an artificial excitement. No lar"-e 
additions to the church were made at any one time. 
Neither was there a period of dearth, but a steady 
and continuous advance in religious knowledge and 
spiritual life. Mr. Winchell was very fond of singing. 
He could sing with the spirit and the understanding 
also. He was acquainted with the science of music. 
He had a sweet voice, and could "set the tune" him- 
self: a happy talent for a pastor. It prepared him 
to give interest to devotional meetings, and made 
him always welcome in the social circle. His large 
and well-trained choir was a prominent feature in his 
congregation, and an efficient element of power. He 
met with them frequently at their rehearsals, and 
many of them became members of the church. 

He edited the hymn-book, familiarly known as 
"Winchell's Watts," and which for many years was 
universally used by the Baptist Churches of New 
England. The Psalmist has now taken its place, 
edited in part by my life-long friend, Eev. Dr. Stow, 
and by another, the Rev. Dr. S. F. Smith, whose 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 39 

own sweet, heavenly, and patriotic strains, are among 
its chief attractions. 

Mr. Winchell had great influence with young men, 
especially with students preparing for the ministry. 
They sought his society, and were always welcome. 
Professor Ripley has told me how pleasantly he used 
to speak to him in the street, and how grieved Mr. 
AVinchell was on one occasion of apparent neglect 
by his young friend, who, being near-sighted, seemed 
not to know him. The late Dr. Davis, of Hartford, 
then recently settled at South Reading, was fond of 
telling how he used to come into the city once or 
twice every week to recite his lessons in Greek and 
Latin to the Boston pastor, and to have at the same 
time, as he said, " a good talk with brother Baldwin." 
Dr. Rufus Babcock has given interesting reminiscences 
of this youthful minister: — of the prayer he offered 
at his father's house in Colebrook, Conn., on his way 
to Boston; the manner in which he gave the hand 
of fellowship to one who had been his fellow-stu- 
dent ; how he preached in the pulpit of Dr. Gano 
at Providence, and the impression produced on the 
students ; the kindness of Mr. Winchell to himself in 
bereavement, especially in preparing the memoir of 
his deceased brother, Cyrus Babcock, for the Maga- 
zine, and other incidents illustrating his kindness of 
heart. Dr. Sharp often spoke of the pleasure he en- 
joyed in Mr. Winchell's society. There was a broth- 



40 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

erly and confiding intercourse between these two 
men, settled as they were in the same vicinity, and 
in every respect worthy of each other's confidence. 
"Brother Winchell," said the Doctor, "was the first man 
who encouraged me to carry written sermons into 
the pulpit I had before left my paper at home, 
and trusted to memory ; but, thought I, if the pas- 
tor of the ' First Church ' reads his sermons, I may as 
well do the same thing. We were never confined to 
our manuscripts, however," continued the Doctor, "as 
young men are now-a-days, who appear as if they 
were speaking to the ' cushion ' rather than to the con- 
gregation," " Some persons," said Dr. Baldwin, speak- 
ing of Mr. Winchell, " will we hope be saved by sov- 
ereign grace, but whose natural dispositions are so 
unamiable, that one could hardly wish an intimacy 
with them in this life." "It was not thus," he con- 
tinues, "with my young friend with whom I have 
been so happily associated. Without deceit or guile, 
his heart seemed formed for friendship." 

Mr. Winchell's declining health compelled him to 
leave the pulpit several months before his death. 
On an exchange at Beverly, he preached three ser- 
mons during the day. This was too much for a well 
man, and especially for one whose constitution, like 
his, was naturally feeble. He was immediately taken 
with bleeding at the lungs, and was never afterwards 
able to speak in public. He lingered in weakness 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 41 

for about six months, receiving constant attentions 
IVom his alTectionate and sympathizing people. He 
died February 22,. 1820. His invaUd wife soon fol- 
lowed him to the grave. His two daughters are, 1 
believe, still living in the neighborhood of their 
father's early home. Dr. Baldwin preached on the 
occasion of Mr. Winchell's funeral, from the appro- 
priate text, "lie was a burning and a shining light." 
Francis Wayland, jr., now the Ex-President of 
Brown University, was the next pastor of the church. 
As he is present with us to-day, I shall refrain from 
saying what in other circumstances it would be inex- 
cusable to omit. Of his eminent services in another 
field I should not presume to speak. He will pardon' 
me, however, if, on the present occasion, I make at 
least a brief reference to his connection with this 
church. It is remembered that the Sermons on the 
" Duties of an American Citizen," and " On the Moral 
Dignity of the Missionary Enterprise," were first 
preached to this people, when the author was, to use 
their own language, "our pastor." Mr. Wayland was 
a tutor in Union College when invited to visit this 
church. He was then comparatively unknown to 
the Baptists, and the invitation, I have understood, 
was procured through the influence of his friend and 
college associate, the Kev. Mr. Wisner of the Old 
South. After supplying for a month as a candidate, 
he accepted a call to the pastoral care of the church, 

F 



42 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

with the condition that he should not enter upon his 
labors until after the summer term at college. He 
was ordained August 21, 1821. The services at the 
ordination were as follows : Introductory Prayer, by 
Rev. Wilham Gammel, of Medfield ; Sermon, by Rev. 
Daniel Sharp, from 1 Cor. xvi. 20. "Now if Timo- 
theus come, see that he may be with you, without 
fear, for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also 
do." Ordaining Prayer, by Rev. Francis Wayland, 
sen., of Saratoga Springs, N. Y. ; Hand of Fellowship, 
by Rev. Lucius Bolles, of Salem ; Concluding Prayer, 
by Rev. Joseph Grafton, of Newton. All the brethren 
who officiated on that occasion, with the exception of 
the pastor elect, are now numbered with the dead. 

While preaching on probation. Deacons Snow and 
Loring sought an interview with him, for the purpose 
of ascertaining, by personal and direct inquiry, who and 
what he was, his religious character, his views of gospel 
doctrines, and his thoughts and feelings in reference 
to the Christian ministry. This visit was not regarded 
by the candidate as obtrusive on the part of the deacons, 
but rather as a judicious and wise proceeding, which, 
if followed, would be likely to secure greater perma- 
nency in the pastoral relation. 

Soon after Mr. Wayland's settlement, he learned 
that his invitation to the p.astorate had not been en- 
tirely unanimous. A minority was opposed to him. 
They had become attached to another candidate, and 



n I STORT CAL ADDLES S. 43 

were disappointed in not having the minister of their 
choice. They wrote anonymous letters to the new 
pastor, and in various ways manifested their dislike. 
They went frequently on the Sabbath to hear their 
favorite candidate, who had recently become a pastor 
in a neighboring town. They brought home glowing 
reports of the sermons they had heard during the day, 
and told, at the evening meeting, how cordially " that 
dear, good man " had received them, and how he hoped 
they would come again. I have had opportunity to 
learn how young Wayland met these early trials. The 
anonymous letters never were heard of, except by con- 
fession of the writers. The matter of going out of town, 
however, was regarded by the officers of the church as 
a public offence, and they proposed, in church-meeting, 
that the offenders should be subjected to discipline. 
Against this, the pastor protested. "If any one of his 
hearers," he said, " preferred the preaching of another 
man, by all means, let him be gratified. He would have 
no persons compelled to sit under his ministry. On the 
contrary, as these members were poor, and the walk 
tiresome, he thought the church ought to hire a car- 
riage for them, and started a subscription himself for 
that purpose. This put an end to the practice, and 
also satisfied the demands of discipline. The deacons, 
however, were very strongly set against the proposed 
exchange of pulpits. There were objections, they said, 
to the minister himself, and probably still greater objec- 



44- HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

tions, on their part, to the idea of gratifying these 
capricious members. Mr. Wajland, however, was per- 
sistently kind. I have understood that this was the 
only occasion on which the pastor ever came in direct 
collision with his official advisers. The deacons opposed 
the exchange. He insisted that it should be made, and 
carried his point. No difficulty afterwards arose. These 
straying members, so loving and so beloved, seemed 
satisfied, and never asked their pastor afterwards to 
repeat the courtesy. 

An incident occurred, in the experience of one of 
these disaffected persons, which I will relate, as nearly 
as I can, in his own words. He was then a young 
man, and now a most worthy deacon of a Baptist 
Church. " I had no doubt," he said, " that Mr. Way- 
land's thoughts were deep, but I could not understand 
them. I did not feel edified. I ventured one day to 
go to his house and tell him so. Instead of giving me 
a rebuke and sending me home, as I deserved, he 
invited me into his study, and, taking me by the hand, 
said, I had done right in coming to him. Then, don't 
you think, he told me his religious experience. ' I 
wished to preach,' he said, ' when the Lord converted 
my soul, but I felt unfit, and so I studied medicine. 
Something, however, still said, Wayland, you must 
preach. Christ has been gracious to you, and you 
must tell others of his love. I could not resist this 
impression, and I try to preach, — poorly enough, I 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 45 

know. I have been called to this church, and here T 
am. Now, my young brother, what shall I do ? I 
don't wish you to sit under my ministry if I do you 
no good. I shall not blame you if you go to hear Mr. 
Sharp, or Dr. Baldwin. Indeed, I advise you to do so. 
They are both good men.' And then he proposed 
prayer ; by this time my throat began to swell, and my 
eyes to water, and I cried, and we both wept together. 
After this, I loved him. I did not go to Mr. Sharp's, 
nor to Dr. Baldwin's. From that time to this, it has 
seemed to me that Mr. Wayland was the best, the 
plainest, the most edifying preacher I ever heard." 
Mr. Wayland resigned his charge, against the wishes 
and much to the surprise of the church. His salary 
was insufficient, and he was too humble, or more 
likely too proud, to ask to have it raised. In this he 
thinks he did wrong. He ought, he says, to have coun- 
selled with the deacons, and given the church an op- 
portunity to retain him, if they chose. He thinks, also 
he made a mistake in leaving the ministry for the po- 
sition he has since occupied. In this opinion he may 
be right, — his heart, we know is, — and it would doul)t- 
less have been better for the church if he had re- 
mained. But the alumni of Brown Universit}', and 
the friends of " Moral Science " and " Intellectual Phi- 
losophy," and certainly one of his successors in the 
pastoral office, who has found a comfortable home here 
for over a quarter of a century, will proba1)ly regard 



46 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

the mistake, if such it be, as one of those evils, out of 
which the Lord " still educes good." 

Dr. Wayland was followed in the pastoral office by the 
Rev. Cyrus P. Grosvenor, who was installed in January, 
1827. Mr. Grosvenor was an able preacher, and a man 
of undoubted honesty. He continued with the church 
nearly four years. He is now residing in England, and 
cannot therefore be present with us to-day. Should 
the words I am now uttering meet his eye, let them 
assure him that he is kindly remembered by his friends 
in Boston. There are persons now in the church, and 
others gone to heaven, who gratefully recognize him 
as their spiritual father. His early pleadings for the 
oppressed, and his continued reputation for moral 
integrity through all the vicissitudes of a now pro- 
tracted life, entitle him to the tribute of respect which 
is most cheerfully accorded him on this occasion. It 
was during the ministry of Mr. Grosvenor, and prin- 
cipally through his exertions, that the old meeting- 
house on Stillman Street was abandoned, and a new 
one erected at the corner of Hanover and Union Streets, 
where the church continued to worship during a period 
of tw^enty-five years, and where the first sixteen years 
of my own pastorate were passed. 

Rev. William Hague succeeded Mr. Grosvenor. He 
was installed February 5th, 1831. He remained with 
the church six years, when he resigned to take charge 
of the First Baptist Church in Providence, R. I. The 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 47 

congregation was greatly enlarged under Mr. Hague's 
ministry. The young people gathered around him witii 
enthusiasm and formed themselves into a Bible class 
under his instruction. The union of popular talent with 
an ingenuous spirit commanded the affection and con- 
fidence of all. It was a sore trial to the church that, 
without any adequate cause, he should leave them in the 
midst of these brightening hopes. Nor is is yet appar- 
ent that he, any more than they, was made the better 
for the change. But Christians, like fond parents, are 
forgiving. He loves to visit this, his early home, and 
he knows he is always welcome. We are happy that 
he is once more settled in our immediate vicinity, and 
trust we shall have him with us to the end of life. 

" 01), more tlian blest that now, 
His wanderings through, 
His anchor falls where first 
His pennons flew." 

My own ministry with this church commenced the 
first Sabbath in August, 1837, — that is, as a candi- 
date, be it understood ; for I was a stranger and a 
sojourner at first, as all my fathers were. 1 accepted 
an invitation to the pastoral care on the ITtli of 
September following, and the services of installation 
occurred on the 2Tth of the same month. 

In tracing the history of the church thus far, I 
have given prominence to the pastor.ate. In order to 
have a correct view, it is needful to notice the influ- 



48 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

ence of other agencies. And first of the Deacons. 
They are designed to be an efficient element of 
strength. They are the official counsellors of the 
pastor. They are to look after the temporal affairs 
of the church, superintend benevolent operations, 
and should be chiefly responsible in all matters of 
discipline. The Deacons have a difficult and some- 
what perilous service to perform. No officer needk 
more grace, in every sense of the term, than a 
deacon. Brought into close relations with pastor 
and people, he is very liable to incur the suspi- 
cion of both. If there are difficulties in the church, 
he is generally charged with the blame, and no 
doubt sometimes deserves it. Of all church mem- 
bers, a bad deacon, ignorant, malicious, obstinate, 
is the very worst. But this is not their character 
as a class. My own comfort as a j)^stor, and 
whatever of peace and prosperity the church has 
enjoyed during the last thirty years, are attributa- 
ble in a very great degree to the influence of kind 
and judicious deacons. The names of such men as 
James Loring, John Sullivan, S. G. Shipley, and Jo- 
seph Urann are held by us, and ever will be, in 
most affectionate remembrance. 

The influence of the Sexton should not on this 
occasion be overlooked. His office is not generally 
considered so dignified or spiritual as that of a dea- 
con; but a right discharge of its duties is by no 



II I STOn IC A L .1 ]) 1> R E S S. 40 

means an unimportant agency. Father Winslow, who 
officiated in this capacity from the time of Stilhnan 
down to the period of my own pastorate, had an in- 
fluence which was felt through the church and so- 
ciet}^, and in every apartment of the house of God. 
The old meeting-house on Stillraan Street, where 
the disciples went as in a fresh and green pasture 
and beside the still waters, was, in his estimation, the 
very beauty of Zion. He watched the grounds and 
the building, outside and in, with rehgious vigilance ; 
and woe to the luckless wight who maliciously or 
thoughtlessly obtruded upon the sacred enclosure. 
Mr. Winslow was a gentleman of the old school ; 
wore his queue, talked of " masters and apprentices," 
and the revolutionary war, and had a perfect vener- 
ation for Dr. Stilhnan and the First Baptist Church. 
He sometimes gave advice to his pastor, and was 
very decided in his opinions, and I may add w^is 
generally in the right. He was strictly conscien- 
tious, and, though blunt in his expressions, had a 
o;enuine kindness of heart. Two other excellent 
fn-ethren, who have sustained this office under my 
own ministry, have passed away. One of them, a 
])cloved and useful member of the church, died 
within the last year, soon after his appointment. 
The other officiated in this capacity for over ten 
years, from the time our present house of worship 
was erected until his death. I can truly say of 



50 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

this brother;^ " He was my helper in Christ Jesus." 
Having access to me at all times, and hearing of 
whatever was said or done among the people, — 
much that the pastor ought to know and still more 
that he ought not to know, — he yet never betrayed 
my confidence, never uttered a word that gave me 
disquietude, but aided me most essentially by timely 
cautions, by his uniform cheerfulness and good-na- 
ture, and by frequently giving me the names and 
residences of persons needing pastoral attention. 

I shall be only following Scripture example, if I 
refer to another class of agencies: "the honorable 
women not a few," the Marys, the Marthas, the Eliza- 
beths, the Hannahs, whose influence in the prayer- 
meetino-, the social circle, and works of benevolence, 
is efficient and cheering as the morning light. 

Some, have left us for the spirit land, whose names 
I shall not repeat. They are remembered for their 
modest worth, their genial spirit, their true heart. 

I can only allude, among other agencies, to the 
Sabbath school, the Bible class, the devotional sing- 
ing. All these belong to the History of the Church, 
and even they are only the outer court of the tem- 
ple. There is an inner sanctuary, an unwritten his- 
tory, individual experiences, silent communings with 
heaven, the conflicts and the triumphs of faith, the 
joy of hope, the comforts of the Holy Spirit, the vis- 

* Ebenezer Carter. 



If [ S TOR I C A L A D D R E S S. 51 

ions of immortality which eye hath not seen nor ear 
heard. These are the hfe of the soul, and the most 
effective power of a Christian church. 

Having spoken of the pastors and prominent events 
in the history of the church, allow me to refer briefly 
to some features in its general character; and, first, 
its patriotism. It has always been true to the coun- 
try, — not merely during the late national conflict, but 
in those early times when they were tempted to feel 
otherwise. It was owing, as we have seen, to the 
presence of the king's commissioners, that the original 
members of this church ventured to form themselves 
into an organized body, and hold public meetings. 
Our brethren improved their opportunity, and gladly 
availed themselves of their own rights. But not in a 
single instance, nor for one moment, were these early 
Baptists untrue to the struggling colony, or indiffer- 
ent to the general welfare. William Turner, one of 
the original members of the church, afterwards a 
captain in the Indian w\ar, fell a martyr at Bloody 
Brook, while fighting for the colony, which would 
not allow him to find what here he sought, "free- 
dom to worship God." And at a later day, in 1776, 
when our churches were still compelled by law to 
support another denomination, — a policy which was 
really more tyrannical and provoking than either the 
tea tax or stamp act, — what course did the Baptists 
pursue? They were irritated, no doubt. They were 



52 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

not insensible to their own wrongs. They hated mo- 
nopoHes. They remonstrated from pulpit and press. 
They sent a delegation to the first Congress to have 
their wrongs redressed and their rights protected, and 
sent in vain. But notwithstanding all this, when the 
colonies were oppressed by the mother country, the 
Baptists, without a dissenting voice, or a faltering hand, 
identified themselves with the common cause, and 
were among the most decided and earnest for Amer- 
ican Independence and the Eevolutionary War. 

Another feature in the character of this church is 
its conservatism in relisrion. It has been true to its 
early faith. The brief and comprehensive articles 
adopted two hundred years ago are its creed to this 
day, and I hope will be through all coming time. We 
believe in progress to be sure, but not in going be- 
yond the incarnate Redeemer, or the teachings of 
Inspiration. The highest possible improvement, in 
knowledge and spiritual culture, is but pressing to- 
ward the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus. 

This church has been kind to its pastors. Most of 
them sustained the relation until death, and those 
who resigned during life acted in nearly every in- 
stance against the wishes of the people, who yet felt 
only pain at parting, and hoped to meet again. 

It has also been true to its own denomination. 
It is bound to its brethren by cords of love. Baptist 



HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 53 

churches, Baptist history, Baptist institutions, are all 
ours. The Newton Institution, Brown University, the 
Missionary Union, and other kindred associations, be- 
long to us and we to them. We are all one family. 
If one member suffers, the others suffer with it, and 
if one member rejoices, the others rejoice with it. 

Allow me to name another feature that has distin- 
guished this church from the beginning, namely. 
Christian courtesy. The spirit of soul-freedom we 
inhaled with our earliest breath. With a great price 
others have obtained this liberty; but tve loere free 
born. It is a sacred legacy. We ought to know its 
extent and import. It is not enough that our own 
privileges are secure. We shall have parted with our 
birthright if we ever fail to accord to others the 
liberty we claim for ourselves, or attempt to coerce 
their faith, either by the ann of power, or, by what 
is still worse, the language of denunciation and abuse. 

Brethren and Friends: We enter upon the third 
century of our existence in circumstances of unusual 
interest. Our beloved country, after passing through 
the fiery trial of civil war, now stands before the 
nations regenerated and free, with no chains for 
human limbs, and no fetters for the human con- 
science ; no established church, and no dissenters ; 
no " standing order," and no schismatics ; no govern- 
ment emissaries, suspiciously prowling about the place 



54 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 

of our religious assemblies ; nor any apprehensions 
that the doors of the sanctuary will be again nailed 
up by order of the '' Great and General Court." We 
have, I believe, the good will of our fellow-citizens, 
and, what is of great importance to a Christian church, 
"we are at peace among ourselves." Our two hun- 
dredth anniversary finds us, also, enjoying a refresh- 
ing season from the presence of the Lord. While we 
are gratefully paying a deserved tribute to the mem- 
ory of the fathers, the Lord our God is graciously 
permitting us to welcome our children and youth, 
the hope of Israel, to our bosom. While thus we 
hallow the past, we are cheered by the brightening 
future, an.d trust, that He who has led us thus far, 

WILL CONTINUE HIS PRESENCE AND BLESSING TO THE END 
OF TIME. 



ORDER OF SERVICES 

AT THE 

TWO IIUNDEEDTH ANNIVEKSARY 

OF THE 

fjv'A IVaptist Cdiirfl), .Somerset Street, ^i!m\m, 

JUNE 7, 1865, 
COMMENCING AT 3 O'CLOCK, P. M. 



I 

ORDER OF SERVICES 



VOLUNTARY OX TIIK ORGAN, 

IJY H. .1. LAXi;, KSQ. 



A N T II E :\I , 

BY A SKLKCT CHOIR UNDER THK UIRKCTIOX OF PROF. S. B. BALL. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS AND RRAYER. 

BY AVILLIAM IIAGUK, D. D., FORMER PASTOR (from 1831 to 1837). 



ORIGINAL HYMN, 

BY S. F. SMITH, D. D. READ BY D. C. EDDY, D. D. 

Nurtured by Heaven with grace and gifts, 

Loving and true and free, 
The cIuutIi of God its head uplifts, 

Like some fair ancient ti-ee. 

The sturdy trunk defies the tooth 

Of all-consuming Time, 
As verdant witli immortal youth 

As in its early prime. 

The spreading bouglis, tlie fil)rous roots 

On every side extend ; 
Witli grateful shade, with precious fruits. 

The beauteous branches bend. 
H 



58 ORDER OF SERVICES. 

The tempest's wrath, the wintry chill, 
In vain their conflicts wage. 

Like plants beneath the sheltering hill, 
It lives from age to age. 

Church of Immanuel, sacred tree, 
Planted by hands divine, — 

Though centuries pass, its life shall be 
Coeval, Lord, with thine. 



READING SCRIPTURES, 

BY REV. ROBERT W. CUSHMAN, D. D. 



PRAYER, 

BY FRANCIS WAYLAND, D D. FORMER PASTOR (from 1821 to 1826). 



ORIGINAL HYMN, 

BY S. F. SMITH D. D., READ BY REV. PIIIXEAS STOWE. 

While centuries pass with solemn tread. 
And kingdoms sink, the church remains ; 

From life's immortal fountain fed, — 
A light, whose glory never wanes. 

Where are the fathers ? Once they stood, 
With fervent faith, with armor bright ; 

Now gathered with the sons of God, 
As stars at morning melt in light. 

Here have they worshipped ; here they died, 
And here their fallen mantles rest ; 

Though gone from earth, their works abide, 
Like sunset glory in the west. 



ORDER OF SERVICES. 59 

The censers from tlicir hands we take, 

And wave the hallowed incense still ; 
They sleep in death , — their children wake, 

The lamps with golden light to fill. 

Head of the Church ! our all, our Guide, — 

We own thy power, we sing thy grace ; 
Still to new conquests thou shalt ride, 

And added centuries speak thy praise 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, 

BY ROLLIN II. XKALE, D. D., PKESENT PASTOR (installed Sept. 27, 1837). 



PRAYER, 

BY REV. WILLIAM JENKS, D. D. 



ORIGINAL HYMN, 

BY S. F. SMITH, D. D., READ BY REV. WARREX RANDOLPH, D. D. 

Oh, sing to the praise of the Saviour above ! 
Unchanging his wisdom, immortal his love ; 
Extolled be his mercy and hallowed his name, 
Who dwelt in the pillar of cloud and of flame. 



His hand through the desert has guided our way. 
Our shelter by night, and our glory by day ; 
The fathers are garnered, at rest in the grave ; 
But Jesus still triumphs, almighty to save. 

The harvests are waving as waves the ripe grain. 
Fruit once sown in tears, of the centuries twain ; 
The billows no more beat with furious shock ; 
The Church safelv stands on its basis of rock. 



60 ORDER OF SERVICES. 

More ages, still following, their circuit shall run, 
More gems like the crown which our Saviour has won ; 
More trophies of grace to the Church shall be given, 
Then echo its Jubilee anthem in heaven. 



BENEDICTION, 

BY THE PASTOR. 



The following Hymn was sung at a pause during the delivery of 
the Discourse. 

God is the refuge of his saints, 

AYhen storms of sharp distress invade ; 
Ere we can offer our complaints. 

Behold him present with his aid. 

Loud may the troubled ocean roar ; 

In sacred peace our souls abide, 
"\ATiile every nation, every shore. 

Trembles, aud dreads the swelling tide. 

There is a stream whose gentle flow 
Supplies the city of our God ; 
' Life, love, and joy still gliding through, 
And watering our divine abode. 

That sacred stream, thine holy word, 

Supports our faith, our fear controls; 
Sweet peace thy promises afford. 

And give new strength to fainting souls. 

Zion enjoys her Monarch's love. 

Secure against a threatening hour; 
Nor can her firm foundation move. 

Built on his truth, and armed with {wwer. 



JNTRODUCTORY REMARKS, 

BY RKV. Wri.T-r.VM HAGUE, D. D. 



Fathers, Brethren, and Friends: 

We have entered this temple to-day, with songs of thanksgiving, in 
order to celebrate an historical era, — the close of the second century 
of this church, the First Baptist Church of Boston, whose fortunes 
have been identified with the fortunes of that great Principle of 
Religious Liberty, which has not only survived the storms of fiery 
persecution, but has established its supremacy in the mind and 
heart of this nation, from sea to sea, over the breadth of the Ameri- 
can continent. 

Two hundred years ago, this church, consisting of " a few, that 
is, eight persons," so small, so weak, so destitute of every kind of 
power, except the indomitable power of Truth, was, with a single 
exception, the only organized body within the bounds of Massachu- 
setts that stood forth as the Representative Witness of that far-reach- 
ing doctrine, now cherished as a sacred legacy in the homos of the 
millions, that " the Conscience of the individual should be free, 
and men should not be punished for worshipping God as they were 
persuaded he required." The single exception referred to, was 
the Baptist Church of Swanzea, on the border of Rhode Island, 
ten miles from Providence, founded, in 1G49, by the Rev. John 
Miles, an emigrant from Wales, who brought with him the records 
of tiie church to which he had belonged in " the old country," 
settled at Wammamoiset, within the bounds of the Plymouth Colony, 



62 INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. 

obtained a grant of land, and named it Swanzea, in honor of the 
town that he had left in the Principality that had given him birth. 
At that time, these two churches, occupying so distinguished a posi- 
tion within the territory of this ancient and honorable Common- 
wealth, with a true martyr-spirit, held forth one testimony in behalf 
of the inalienable rights of Conscience, standing up in the sight 
of "Heaven, angels, and men," pi'ophesying, clothed in sackcloth, 
" like the two witnesses " described in the vision of the inspired 
Prophet of Patmos. 

That sister-church of exiles for conscience' sake, lived in a state 
of comparative seclusion, enjoying a good degree of legal protec- 
tion ; but this church occupied a conspicuous place in ■ what was 
then the chief city of New England, under the eye of a civil 
government founded upon the principle that the Church and State 
were one compacted organism. Of course, in the year 1665, when 
this church arose, asserting the " right of private judgment " in 
matters of religion, declaring that the simple Christianity of the 
New Testament recognized no bond of union with the outward, 
visible church, except an unconstrained, free, voluntary profession 
of personal faith, and claiming protection on the ground of an 
" inalienable right," the Ruling Power marvelled at its audacity 
and doomed it to suffer all of those " pains and penalties " with 
which their own fathers had been familiar in the Old World from 
which they had fled. 

For more than half a century did this consuming fire of perse- 
cution rage within and around this goodly city, and not until the 
year 1718 did a change come over the spirit of the Ruling Power 
and its policy in Massachusetts. All honor to those three principal 
clergymen of Boston, Di-. Increase Mather, Dr. Cotton Mather, 
and Mr. John Webb, who then stepped forward to stem the fiery 
tide, by taking pai-t in the public ordination of Mr. Elisha Cal 
lender, a graduate of Harvard University, whom they knew and 
loved as a man, a Christian, and a faithful minister, in spite 
of his alleged heresies. The sermon of Cotton Mather on that 
day. May 21st, 1718, — the sermon wherein he abjured all fellow- 



LETTER FROM REV. DR. STOW. 63 

ship with the oppressive spirit of tlie past, — was a. si^jjnal event in 
the history of this Church, and this State, well worliiy of grateful 
mention and commendation here to-day. 

If he be permitted, now and then, from the spirit-hind to come 
and hover over the old city of his habitation, this still thriving 
and far-spreading metropolis, no doubt he has been delighted to 
observe upon the old central hill, the beautiful dome of the Capitol 
welcoming to its aerial neighborhood the spire of that First Baj)- 
tist Church, which, in the days of its weakness and suffering, he 
penitently and nobly befriended. 

For that one act of his useful life, even if all others be for- 
gotten, let his name be fragrant within these walls. 

In the discourse to which we shall soon listen, from the lips of 
my honored brother and immediate successor in the pastorship of 
this church, there will be mentioned the names of good men whom 
we remember with affection ; and as their images pass before us, 
recalling the days and scenes of youth, long-cherished associations 
ever dear to memory, the deeper springs of feeling in our moral 
nature will be unsealed ; and, amid our smiles and joyous recogni- 
tion here, the silent tear will flow unbidden, as a spontaneous 
tribute at the shrine of departed friendship, of sacred brotherhoods 
and communions removed from earth to be regained in heaven. 



LETTER FROM REV. DR. STOW. 

Boston, 16 June, 1865. 
To the Rev. Rollix II. Nealk, D. D. 

My dear Brother, — It was a great disappointment to me that I could not 
be present and participate with you and your people in the commemorative 
services on the 7th instant. I was providentially detained hundreds of miles 
away. But I was " with you in the spirit, joying, and beholding your order, 
and tlie steadfastness of your faith in Christ." 

Tlie church you have served nearly twenty-eight years has a creditable 
history, which I am glad to know, you have fully sketched, and propose to 
add, in permanent form, to the historical literature of our denomination. In 



64 REVIEW OF THE SERVICES. 

the ministry of your church have been honored names ah-eady written high 
among those of the great and good in Zion. No better men and women 
have trodden the streets of Boston, or worshipped in its sanctuaries, than 
many in the membership of the " Old First Church." My remembrance of 
some of them extends back to the period when Dr. Wayland was the pastor, 
and I can bear testimony to their strong good sense, their deep piety, their 
elevated standard of morality, their knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, and 
their firm adherence to " the faith once delivered to the saints." " Rooted 
and built up in Him " who is the liife and the Strength of His people, they 
were stable Christians. Their faith stood, not in the wisdom of men, but in 
the power of God, and was not disturbed by any " wind of doctrine," that 
blew hot or cold around them. I could name such, " of whom the world was 
not worthy," and who commanded the Avorld's respect. 

The unwavering stability of your church in the Baptist faith and polity is 
attributable to the fact that it has been " grounded and settled" under faith- 
ful Biblical teaching, and tested by adverse forces that would have shaken 
any edifice not " built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
Christ Himself being the Chief Corner-Stone." Such teaching as it has 
had in the past, may it have along the future, unmixed by the philosophy of 
a sceptical, sensuous age. May you, my brother, have grace to abide in 
Christ and bring your people into close union with Him as their spiritual 
Head, — the Source of their vitality, the Fount of their intelligence, the 
Centre of their authority. 

The relations which have subsisted between you and myself, through forty 
years of fraternal intercourse, justify me in using strong expressions of af- 
fectionate esteem. 

BARON STOW. 

Letters of congratulation and kindness were also received from the " Old 
Baldwin Place Church," and from the Second Church in Newport, R. I. 



A REVIEW OF THE SERVICES. 

All the circumstances attending this two hundredth anniversary 
were eminently favorable, and will long be cherished among our 
most pleasant memories. The day itself was balmy and delightful. 
The meeting of present and past members of the church and con- 
gregation called up afresh the scenes of former days. The sanctu- 
ary was appropriately decorated with flowers and evergreens and 



REVIEW OF THE SERVICES. 65 

the national banners. The names of the pastors were arranged, in 
the order of their pastorate, on the front of the galleries, the pulpit, 
and the organ-loft. Prominent incidents in the history of the church 
were presented to the eye. On the right of the pulpit was the fol- 
lowing record of the organization of the church : — 

Ye 28th of yo Srd month. 1665 in Charlestown, ye Church of Christ com- 
monly (tliough folsely) called Anabaptists, were gathered together and 
entered into fellowship and communion with each other, engaging to walk 
together in all the appointments of their Lord and Master, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, as far as He should be pleased to make known His mind and will 
unto them by His word and Spirit, and then was baptized Thomas 
Gould, Thomas Osborne, Edward Drinker, John George, and joined with 
Richard Goodall, Wm. Turner, Robert Lambert, Mary Goodall and !Mary 
Newell, who had walked in that order in Old England. 

And on the left was the following official order "inhibiting" the 
Church from occupying their own " meeting-house." 

" All persons are to take notice y* by ord^ of y^ Court ye dores of this 
house are shutt up. & y' they are inhibited to hold any meeting therein or 
to open ye dores thereof, without lishence from Authority till ye gennerall 
Court take further order, as they will answer ye Contrary att theire p""ill 
dated in boston 8th March 1680 

by Ord^ of ye Councell 

Edward Raweson 

Seecretary." 

These tablets, and the names of the Pastors, were festooned with 
oaken wreaths. The whole scene was animating, and the air fragrant 
with beautiful bouquets. " The Old Church-Book," bearing upon its 
pages the footprints of time, lay on the commuiiion-table, inclosed in a 
glass case. Here, also, was exhibited the communion-service, which, 
like the vessels of the ancient sanctuary, drew tears from the eye of 
the beholder. The silver cups, with the inscriptions and names of the 
donors, had been presented at dilTerent periods, and were of various 
sizes and fashions. They were, of course, familiar to past and present 
members, and awakened sacred and tender emotions. A large audi- 
ence was in attendance, consisting, not only of our own congregation 
I 



66 SOCIAL FESTIVAL. 

but of pastors and members of other Baptist churches in the city and 
vicinity, professors and students from Newton Theo. Institution, and 
also ministers and members of other denominations, Dr. Kirk, Dr. 
Adams, Dr. E. S. Gannett, Dr. Walker, ex-president of Harvard Uni- 
versity, the venerable Dr. Jenks, now near ninety years of age, and 
the still more venerable Father Cleaveland, who is approaching his 
one hundredth year. 

THE SOCIAL FESTIVAL. 

The social festival in the evening gave increased interest to the 
occasion. This was held in the spacious chapel, which was well ar- 
ranged, and most " bountifully " provided for. Addresses were made 
by several clergymen and other brethren, Drs. Way land, Hague, 
Kirk, Cushman, the Pastor, and others. Dr. Wayland was in his 
happiest mood. He made a speech full of personal reminiscences, 
and breathing the spirit of matured piety. He sang with his old 
parishioners, and went around among them, reviving the scenes of 
his early experience. Dr. Cushman was present, vigorous and 
strong, speaking kindly of the Church and Pastor, in whose neigh- 
borhood he lived Avhile himself the Pastor of the Bowdoin-Square 
Church. It was emphatically a reunion of " the family." Most of 
the time was passed in social conversation, and all seemed to enjoy 
the interview. We realized the truth of the sentiments which we 
often sing — 

" Blest be the tie that binds 

Our hearts in Christian love ; 
The fellowship of kindred minds 
Is like to that above." 



iistoricitl UtattcB. 



HISTORICAL MATTERS. 



THE COMMUNION-SERVICE PLATE. 



The communion-vessels consist of two flagons, eighteen cups, 
four plates, and one spoon. 

The flagons arc marked thus: "The gift of Mr. Jona. Harris 
to the First Baptist Church of Christ in Boston, 1792." The 
following record is found on the church-book, under date Nov. 30, 
1792: "The minister, in the name of Mr. Jona. Harris, merchant, 
presented an elegant pair of. plated flagons to the Church, of 
which he requested their acceptance." 

Onecup is marked, "Ex dona J. & M. Russell, 1714." Cup. 
marked, "Ex dona Mary Russell to ye Church." Cup marked, 
" The gift of Wm. Snell to ye Baptist Church in Boston, 1727." 
Record concerning this: "May 8, 1727. Wm. Snell, having be- 
(lueathed twelve ounces and twelve pennyweights of plate to the 
Church, — Voted, that this plate be made into a handsome cup 
with his name upon it, but one spoon with his name upon it shall 
be reserved for the use of the Lord's table." [This spoon is placed 
upon the Lord's table at every communion season.] 

Cup marked, "F-I F." Record as follows: "Sept. 7, 1729. 
The Church received a small silver cup marked F — I F, the 
legacy of Mr. John Foreland and his first wife, who was a member 
of the Baptist Church in Boston." 

Cup marked, " The Gift of Mr. Edward Richai-dson to the baptist 
Church in boston." Record Aug. 2, 17G0: "Four pounds lawful 
money, legacy of Edward Richardson, of Newbury, was placed in 



^0 HISTORICAL MATTERS. 

the b«nds of Dea. Bulfinch, to be laid out in a piece of plate for 
the communion-table." 

Goblet marked, -Ex dono R. K." [No record.] Goblet 
marked, "Ex dono sc. Tistm. A. D. per T. A." [No record.] 
Two large plated goblets and two plates, not marked. Record 
as follows: "April 29, 1793. The minister informed the Church 
that our brethren William White and Jonas Welch had made a 
present to the church of two plated goblets and two plated dishes 
for the communion-table." 

Two plated goblets and two plates were purchased by the Church 
about thirty years since. 

Three silver goblets marked, " Presented to the First Baptist 
Church by Mrs. Lucy Snow, 1854." 

Three silver goblets marked, " Presented to the First Baptist 
Church by Mrs. P. C. Loring, 1854." 

These vessels of the sanctuary are indeed sacred and eloquent 
memorials of the past. On each communion season they recall 
to us the days of Russell, Callender, Condy, and Stillman. They 
.remind us of the devotedness of our fathers to the interests of the 
Church. They call up before us the multitude of witnesses, now 
gone to their reward, who once received the symbolical emblems 
of the Saviour's death from these simple vessels. 



ARTICLES OF FAITH. 
AGREED UPON, A. D. 1665. 

We believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, that there 
is* but one God,t Creator and Governor of all things,| distinguished 
into Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,§ and that this is life eternal, to 
know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. 

lJohn5:7. ^Johnl7:3. Heb.5:9. i<5.id. 



HIS TOR ICAL MA T TE RS. 71 

AikI (liat tlie riil(! of this knowledge, faith, and obedience, concerning 
the worsliip and service of God, and all other Christian duties, is the 
written Word of God, contained in the books of the Old and New 
Testaments.* 

* John 5: 39. 2 Tim. 3: 15, IG, 17. Dcut. 4: 2, 5, 6. Gen. C: 22. Ex. 20:4, 56. 
39:42,43. 1 Chroa. 28: 19. I's. 119. Gal. 1:8. Rom. 22: 18, 19. 

We believe, Christ is the foundation laid by the Father,* of whom 
Moses and the Prophets wrote and the Apostles preached ; f ■who is 
that great Prophet whom we are to hear in all things ; + who hath 
perfectly revealed, ont of the bosom of his Father, the whole word 
and will of God, which his servants are to know, believe, and obey.§ 

* Gen. 3: 15. 22: 18. 1 Dent. 18: 15. Vs. 22: 6, 7, 12, 17. J Dent. 18: 15. Acta 
3:22,23. §Johnl:18. 12:29. 15:15. 17:18. Matt. 17:5. 2 Tim. 3: 15, 16, 17. 

Christ's commission to his disciples is to teach and baptize ; * and 
those who gladly receive the word and are baptized, are his by call- 
ing, and fit matter for a visible Church ; f and a competent number 
of such, joined together in covenant, and fellowship of the Gospel, 
are a Church of Christ. | 

* Matt. 28:19. Acts 9:10,18. 10:28. t Acts 2:41. J 1 Cor. 1. Jer. 50:4,5. 
Ps. 50: 5. Micuh 4:5. Matt. 18. 

We believe, that a Church, thus established, are to walk in all the 
appointments of Christ ; * and have power from him to choose front 
among themselves their own officers ; whom the Gospel allows to 
administer in the ordinances of Christ among them, — whom they 
may depute or ordain to this end.f 

* Matt. 28:20. f Acts 6: 3, 6, 6. 9:10,18. 10:47,48. 14:23. Horn. 12. 

And this Church hath power to receive into their fellowship visible 



72 HISTORICAL MATTERS. 

believers ; * and, if any prove scandalous, obstinate, and wicked, to 
put forth such from among them.f AYhen the Church is met together 
they may prophesy, one by one, that all may learn, and all may be 
comforted ; % and they ought to meet together, the first day of the 
week, to attend upon the Lord in all his holy ordinances, continuing in 
the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and breaking bread, and prayers. § 

* Rom. 14:1. 16:2. f M:itt. 18:7. 1 Cor. 4:5. J 1 Cor. 14: 23, 24, 25, 31 
§ Acts 20: 7. 1 Cor. 16:2. Acts 2: 42. 

We acknowledge Magistracy to be an ordinance of God, and to 
submit ourselves to them in the Lord, not because of wrath only, but 
also for conscience' sake.* 

* Rom. 13:1. 1 Pet. 2: 13, 14. 

Thus we ■ desire to give unto God that which is God's, and unto 
Cajsar that which is Ceasar's, and to every man that which belongeth 
to him ; * endeavoring always to have a clear conscience, void of 
offence towards God, and also towards man, having hope in God. 
That the resurrection of the dead will be of the just, unto life; and of 
the unjust unto condemnation everlasting.f If any take this to be 
heresy, then do we, with the Apostles, confess, that after the way 
which they call heresy, we worship the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; believing all things written in the Law, and in the Proph- 
ets, and in the Psalms.J 

* Matt. 22 : 21. f Acts 24: 14, 15, 16. John 5: 28. J 2 Tim. 1: 13. 3: 14, 15, 16, 17 
Matt. 10:32. 

CHURCH COVENANT. 

ADOPTED, 1665. 

As we trust we have been brought, by divine grace, to embrace the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and, by the influence of his Spirit, to give our- 
selves up to hira ; so do we now solemnly covenant with each other. 



HISTORICAL MATTERS. 73 

as God shall enable u;5, to walk together in hrotlierly love ; that \vc 
will exercise a Christian care and watehfiilness over each other, and 
faithfully warn, rebuke, and admonish our brethren, as the case shall 
require; that we will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, 
nor omit the great duty of prayer, both for ourselves and for others ; 
that we will participate in each other's joys, and endeavor, with ten- 
derness and sympathy, to bear each other's burdens and sorrows ; that 
we will seek divine aid to enable us to walk circumspectly and watch- 
fully in the world, denying ungodliness and every worldly lust ; that 
we will strive together for the support of a faithful, evangelical minis- 
try among us ; and through life, amidst evil report and good report, 
seek to live to the glory of Ilim who hath called us out of darkness 
into his marvellous light. 

THE OLD MEETING-HOUSES. 

The frame of the old meeting-house, in Stillman Street, was re- 
moved to South Boston, and constitutes the materials of the South 
Boston Baptist Church, Broadway, Rev. G. S. Abbot present pastor. 
The old pulpit where Wayland and Winchell and Stillman preached, 
is in the vestry of that chui'ch. 

The meeting-house at the corner of Hanover and Union Streets is 
now used for a carpet store. The front part of it has been removed 
for the purpose of widening the street. 

Contexts of the Box placed under the Corner-stone of 
THE House, corner of Union and Hanover Streets : — 

1. A Sermon delivered at the Dedication of the Baptist Mocting-house, in 
Charlcstown, ^lass., May 12, by Samuel Stillman, D. D. 

2. A Discourse delivered by Rev. Josepli Clay, A. ]\I., August 10, 1807, 
on the occasion of his Installation to the pastoral care of tliL- First Baptist 
Church and Society in Boston. 

J 



74 HISTORICAL MATTERS. 

3. Two Discourses, exliibiting an Historical Sketch of the First Baptist 
Church in Boston, from its formation in Charlestown, 1665, to the beginning 
of 1818, by Rev. James M. Winchell, A. M. 

■ 4. A Sermon on the Moral Dignity of the Missionary Enterprise, delivered 
Oct. 26, 1823, by Francis Way land, Jr., A. M. 

5. The eleventh number of the first volume of the Baptist Preacher, pub 
ished by Rev. Wm. Collier, containing a sermon by Rev. Cyrus P. Grosvenor, 
A. M. Text, — " Mcne, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin." 

6. The American Baptist Magazine for Sept., 1828. 

7. The Minutes of the seventeenth anniversary of the Boston Baptist As- 
sociation, held in Cambridge, 17th and 18th September, 1828. 

8. The last Christian Watchman. 

9. The six daily papers of the city, of Oct. 21, 1828. 



The plate, this day (Oct. 21, 1828) deposited under the corner-stone of 
the new meeting-house for this church, at the corner of Hanover and Union 
streets, is of silver, weighing three ounces, and being six inches by four in 
measure. The inscription on it is as follows : The First Baptist Church in 
Boston, Mass., was gathered in Charlestown, A. D. 1665, and removed to 
Boston, A. D. 1679. The first members were, — Thomas Gold, Thomas Os- 
bourne, Edward Drinker, John George, William Turner, Robert Lambert, 
Mary Goodall, Mary Nowell, Richard Goodall. 

The names of the Pastors and the years of their settlement. 

Thomas Gold, settled A. D., 1665. \ 

John Russell, Isaac Hull, 16 75. j 

John Emblem, 1684. Ellis Callender, 1708. / 

Elisha Callender, A.m., 1718. Jeremiah Condy, A.M., 1739.1 
Saml. Stillman, D. D., 1765. Joseph Clay, A. M., 1807. / . . 
James Manning Winchell, A. M., 1814. 
Francis Wayland, Jun., D. D., 1821. 
Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor, A. M., 1827. 



HIST niC .1 L ^f .1 T T K I! S. 75 



The Present Officers of the Church. 

Cyrus P. Grosvknok, ]\istor. 
John Sullivan, 



VAN, ) 

LNN, j 



Joseph Ukaxx, rBeacons 



The Building Committee. 



John Sullivan. 

ICHABOD MaCOMBER, 

Samuel Beal. 
Thomas Gould. 
John Gair. 
Isaac Davis. 



The 



Joseph Urann. 
John K. Simpson. 
Emery Rice. 
Simon G. Shipley. 
Geo. S. Goddard. 
Moses Pond. 
Charles Wells, Superintendent. 

" One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism." 

Boston, October 21st, A. D. 1828. 

The services at the dedication of the New Meeting- 
house, IN Hanoveu Street, Thursday, June 18, 1829, were as 
follows : — , 

1. Invocation, by the Pastor. 

2. Anthem. 

3. Dedicatory Prayer, by llev. James D. Knowles. 

4. Antliem. 

5. Reading Scriptures by Rev. Dr. Sharp. 

6. Singing of hymn 175, of Winchcll's Supplement. 

7. Sermon, by C. P. Grosvenor, from Romans 11:3G. "For of Him, 
and through Ilim, and to Ilim are all things, to whom be glory forever. 

8. Prayer, by Rev. Howard iNIalcom. 

9. Anthem — Do.\ology in Old Hundred. 
1 0. Benediction, by the Pastor. 



The laying of the Corner-stone of the New rmitcH, o\ 
Somerset Street, took place at 8 o'clock, on the inijniinir <>f Sipi. 
12, 1853. 

The exercises were as follows : — 

1. Prayer, by Rev. William Ilowe. 

2. 1 78th Hymn of Winchcll's Selections. 

3. An Address, by Rev, Dr. Neale. 

4. Reading of the contents of the bo.\ to be deposited boneatli tlie corner- 
stone. 



76 HISTORICAL MATTERS. 

The inscription was as follows : — 

The Baptist Church in Boston was gathered in Charlestown A. D. 16G5» 
and removed to Boston A. D. 1679. 

NAMES OP PASTORS. 



Thomas Gold, 


. Settled, 


1GG5, . 


. Died, 1675. 


Isaac Hull, 


Licensed, 


1673, 


" 1690. 


John Russell, 


. Settled, 


1679, . 


" 1680. 


John Emblem, 


(.1 


1684, , 


« 1702. 


Ellis Callender, 


(( 


1708, . 


" 1726. 


Elisha Callender, 


(( 


1718, 


" 1738. 


Jeremiah Condy, 


u 


1739, . 


. Resigned, 1765. 


Samuel Stillman, . 


(( 


1765, 


Died, 1807. 


Joseph Clay, 


u 


1807, . 


" 1811. 


James M. Winchell, 


11 


1814, 


" 1820. 


Francis Wayland, 


(( 


1821, . 


. Resigned, 1826. 


Cyrus P. Grosvenor, 


u 


1827, 


" 1830. 


Wm. Hague, 


(1 


1830, . 


» 1837. 


RoLLiN H. Neale, 


u 


1837, 


Present Pastor. 



present officers of the CHURCn, 1853. 

Pastor— Rev. Rollin H. Neale, D. D. • 

Deacons — Joseph Urann, Thomas Richardson, Thomas P. Foster, Abijah 
Patch. 

Clerk. — George E. Learnard. 

Treasurer. — William Grubb. 

Superintendent Sabhath- School. — Cyrus Carpenter. 

Building Committee. — Thomas Richardson, Nathaniel Hill, William 
Grubb, Daniel P. Simpson, Edward Sands, Cyrus Carpenter, Artemus Ham- 
mond, Charles P. Chamberlin, William H. Learnard. 

Architect. — William Washburn. 

Master Mason. — Carlton Parker. 

Carpenters. — C. & S. Barker. 



5. The box was then deposited, and the corner-stone laid by Dr. Neale. 

6. Prayer was offered by Dr. Stow. 

7. Doxology and Benediction. 



HISTORICAL MATTERS. 77 

Contp:nts of tiif Box deposited beneath the Couneu-stoxe 

ON SOMEKSET StUEET : 

I. A Sermon by Rev. Dr. Stillman, dt'livcrcil Nov., 1790, entitled Apos- 
tolic Preaching. 

II. A Sermoil by Rev. James M. Wiuchcll, being an Historical Sketch of 
this Church. 

III. Three Sermons by Rev. Francis Wayland, D. D. 

1. On the Duties of an American Citizen. 

2. On the Moral Dignity of the Missionary Enterprise. 

3. A manuscript Sermon preached at the funeral of Rev. Dr. Sharp. 

IV. A Sermon by Rev. "William Hague, D. D., on the Life and Character 
of Rev. Dr. Judson, dehvered May 1851. 

V. The following Sermons by Rev. R. II. Neale, D. D. : 

1. Election sermon, delivered before the Legislature, Jan. 1852. 

2. The Incarnation, preached before the Association, 1849. 

3. The Burning Bush, preached 1850. 

4. Manuscript Sermon from the words, " The word of God is not bound." 

YI. Funeral Sermon, on the Death of Rev. Dr. Bolles, by Rev. Dr. Daniel 
Sharp, from the words, " Jesus wejjt." 

VII. Sermon by Rev. Baron Stow, D. D., entitled, A Tribute to the 
Memory of the late Rev. Dr. Sharp, delivered July, 1853. 

VIII. Manuscript Sermon by Rev. IMr. Wines, pastor of the Bowdoin 
Square Church. 

IX. Essay to Sabbath School Teachers, by Rev. Wm. Howe, pastor of the 
Merrimac Sti'eet Church. 

X. Baptist Periodicals. 

XI. Annual Reports of various Baptist Benevolent Societies. 

XII. Minutes of the Boston Baptist Association. 

XIII. Church Covenant of the Boston Bethel Church with Hymns, by 
Rev. Phineas Stowe, pastor. 

XIV. History of the First Baptist Church, Boston, with names of mcmliers, 
1853. 

XV. Copperplate Engraving of Rev. Dr. Stillman. 



78 HISTORICAL MATTERS. 

XVI. Engraving of Rev. Mr. Wnichell. 

XVII. Crystalloh'pe Likeness of Rev. Dr. Neale. 

XVIII. A Parchment Inscription, containing the names of all the pastors 
of the church, with the dates of their settlement and decease or resignation. 

XIX. The daily Newspapers of this city of this date, Sept. 12, 1853. 

XX. A Letter from the church to their successoi's, who may open the box. 



Order of Exercises at the Dedication of the First Bap- 
tist Church, Somerset Street, Thursday, January 11, 1855. 

1. Voluntary and Anthem. 

2. Prayer by Rev. Dr. Stow. 

3. Hymn by Rev. S. F. Smith, D. D. 

4. Reading the Scriptures, by Rev. Dr. Kirk. 

5. Dedicatory Prayer by Pres. Waylaud. 

6. Hymn 206, Psalmist. 

7. Sermon by the pastor. — Heb. x. 19. 20. 

8. Hymn 21, Psalmist. 

9. Prayer by Rev. Dr. Caldlcott. 

10. Anthem, " Glory be to God." 

11. Benediction. 



Letter referred to as among the Contents of the Box 

DEPOSITED UNDER THE CORNER-STONE OF THE PRESENT MeET- 

iNG-HousE, Somerset Street: — 

Beloved Brethren and Sisters: — 

Deeply interested, as we are, in the past history of this ancient 
church, our hearts are moved with affectionate solicitude for those who 
shall come after us. "We differ, in some respects, from our fathers as 
you probably will differ from us. External manners and customs 
change with the lapse of time. But the great and essential truths of 
the gospel, namely, that Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh ; 
that the sinner is saved only through faith in the vicarious sufferings 
of the Son of God ; that regeneration is an essential prerequisite to 



II I ST R ICAL M A T TER S. 79 

personal piety, and to our ultimate admission to the kingdom of 
heaven ; and that this ehangc is wrought only through the sovereign 
agency of the Holy Spirit, — are sentiments which we now hold as 
they were expressed by the original founders of the church, two 
hundred yeai's ago. And we exhort you, " scruptdoiisly to /told fast 
tlte form of sound tvords." 

May these doctrines be faithfully preached, and most surely be- 
lieved, by the successive pastors and members of this church, through 
all coming time. 

Dear Brethren : — To whatever extent our goodly city may have 
grown in your day, and whatever changes and improvements may 
then occur in society, let nothing be added to or taken from the vol- 
ume of inspiration ; our holy faith was pure and perfect at its origin ; 
we exhort you, therefore, that you keep the commandments, the doc- 
trines, and the ordinances, as they have been delivered unto us from 
inspired apostles, and by authority of the Great Head of the Church. 
"We herewith transmit to you the Articles of Faith and Church Cove- 
nant adopted by our fathers in 1GG5, with various other documents, 
which will give you an idea of our present state and condition. 

May your lives, dear brethren, be conformed to your high and holy 
profession ; may the gospel in your day be rapidly extending its in- 
fluence over the whole earth ; may you find these United States still 
one nation, increasingly prosperous and happy ; and, ere you read this 
letter, the Lord grant that liberty may have been proclaimed to all 
the inhabitants throughout the length and breadth of the land. We 
earnestly pray that the choicest blessings of Heaven may descend upon 
you and upon those who shall succeed you, and though we meet not 
on earth, we anticipate a joyous recognition and delightful communings 
in the promised land. 

In behalf of the First Baptist Church, Boston. 

RoLLiN II. Nkalk, I'astor. 
September 12, 1853. 



80 



HISTORICAL MATTERS. 



The following persons have officiated as deacons of the Church: — 



Names. When 


chosen. 


Thomas Skinner, 


1670 


Edward Drinker, , 


1670 


Humphrey Kirkwood, 


1681 


Benjamin Sweetser, 


1688 


Kichard B. Proctor, 


1718 


JosiAS Byles, 


1720 


Shem Drowne, . 


1721 


Joseph Hiller, Jr., 


1754 


Skinner Russell, 


1751 


John Bulfinch, 


1759 


Nathan Hancock, 


1759 


Shem Drowne, 


1774 


Philip Freeman, 


1779 


Richard Gridley, . 


1779 


Daniel Wild, 


1787 



Names. When chosen. 

William Capen, . . 1790 

Joh:n Wait, . . 1801 

James Loring, . . 1801 

Prince Snow, Jr., . 1807 

John Sullivan, . . 1825 

Joseph Urann, . . 1828 

Moses Pond, , . .1828 

John Spence, . . 1835 

Simon G. Shipley, . .1838 

Thomas Richardson, . 1840 

Thomas P. Foster, . . 1845 

Abu AH Patch, . . 1847 

John Q. A. Litchfield, 1861 

Charles A. Turner, . 1861 



PRESENT OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH. 

ROLLIN II. NEALE, Pastor. 



DEACONS. 



Thomas Richardson, 
Thomas P. Foster, 



John Q. A. Litchfield, 
Abijah Patch, 



Charles A. Turner. 

Cyrus Carpenter, Superintendent of Sdbhath School. 

William H. Brewer, Church Clerk. 

society's committee. 



Daniel P. Simpson, Chairman, 
Edward Sands, 
John Q. A. Litchfield, 
Wm. H. Learnard, Jr., 
Gilbert C. Brown, 
Samuel B. Hopkins, 



Thomas P. Foster, 
Oliver D. Kimball, 
Caleb G. Barker, 
Richard F. Murray, 
Cyrus Carpenter, 
Erastus B. Badger. 



Chas. a. Turner, Cle7-l- and Treasurer. 



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